1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to an exercise device and more particularly to an exercise device wherein the pattern of resistance required by the user to move the contact member can be varied without adding or removing individual weights.
Exercise devices and rehabilitation machines are used to improve the overall health and fitness of the human body and to increase strength. A disadvantage of the present devices is that they require the user to change the amount of weight which resists the force which the user places on the machine, and hence, the user must interrupt the exercising program. Moreover, the existing devices are not designed to vary the pattern of the resistance during an individual movement of the contact member by the user of the device. The known devices do not have the desired versatility. The present invention overcomes the deficiencies which are inherent in the prior art devices by incorporating a simple adjustment arrangement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various prior art patents such as, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,709,920 and 4,256,302 disclose arrangements wherein the force required to be exerted on the bar is varied by changing the position of cam arrangements but these devices are complicated and do not permit the versatility which is desired in incrementally varying the amount of resistance to movement of the contact member.
Other United States patents, such as, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,763,897; 4,407,495; 3,640,527; 4,603,855 and 4,511,137 disclose adjusting the resistance required to move the weights but do not have any mechanism to vary the pattern of resistance.